Method and system for acceleration of tcp connection establishment

A system for acceleration of TCP connection establishment between a client and a server in a network, the system comprising:

• at least one stateful switch with packet generation capabilities, the at least one stateful switch including input/output ports, a state table, a finite state machine (FSM) table, and a feedback loop implemented between the state table and the FSM table, and
• a controller configured to program rules into the state table and the FSM table of the at least one stateful switch,
• wherein the at least one stateful switch is configured to:
• receive a TCP SYN segment from the client,
• generate a sequence number in a manner coordinated with the server,
• answer the TCP SYN segment, on behalf of the server, with a corresponding SYN ACK segment containing the sequence number,
• forward the TCP SYN segment received from the client to the server, and
• act as a forwarding element for segments exchanged between the client and the server once a TCP connection is established such that no state relating to the TCP connection is held by the at least one stateful switch.